Friday 5 July 2013

A truly horrifying death

In May, the story of the death of Gloria Foster, an elderly woman with advanced dementia who was left to die in her own home, shocked the nation.

After the initial expressions of shock and outrage, things went quiet.  The media moved on as usual.  Later, a police investigation found no evidence of any criminal neglect.  This caused a ripple of surprise, and then the story disappeared again.

Thankfully, one journalist, Amelia Gentleman of the Guardian, did not 'move on'.  Her investigation into how it is possible in twenty-first century Britain, for a woman to die at home, alone, without food, water or medication deserves to be widely read.

Every policy or plan to deal with the coming explosion in the number of frail, elderly people who will need to be looked after should be judged against this criterion: would it help to ensure that in future no-one else has to face the ordeal that Gloria did.

And, of course, somebody should be called to account.  Soon!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jun/29/when-elderly-care-goes-wrong

1 comment:

  1. Hi, i'm sure you are aware of the ALIVE INSIDE documentary, directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett, about music and memory and its power to unlock deepest memories and how it brings people alive again. We are currently writing a book in addition of the release of the film in september.

    Please help us reaching people and making major changes in the way we deal with elders with dementia by sharing the following text. Thanks again.

    1st teaser : https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fyZQf0p73QM
    CNN Interview : http://startingpoint.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/18/documentary-alive-inside-shows-the-healing-power-of-music/


    ALIVE INSIDE : The Book. A call for contributers and writers.

    Hi everyone ! Our film (it's yours too !) is pretty much done, the editing is locked and we are currently working on the mixing, the color correction and the graphic integration. Thanks again for all your support, it's been an amazing journey. You'll be notified pretty soon.
    We are doing a book to support the release of ALIVE INSIDE this September.
    We need you ! We need stories and testimonies of your personnal experience. We are also looking for writers and experts who will be able to write entries and stories to illustrate the following ideas written by the director of the film, Michael Rossato-Bennett. Feel free to contribute and please share your stories to us and sent it to bealiveinside@gmail.com.

    Here is what we need and the main parts/themes/questions

    1. MUSIC IS POWERFUL
    We need writing about what music is- its power, history, where it came from, how it starts in the womb- how music is one of the most powerful stimulus for life.. Stories about how music changed your life, or what it meant to you in a moment.

    2. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BRING MUSIC (or life) INTO NURSING HOMES (or into the lives of those with Dementia) - HOW IT CHANGES LIVES ?
    We need stories about touching people with Dementia, through music or anything else and stories about the challenges of dealing with Dementia

    3. WHY DO WE MAKE NURSING HOMES, WHAT ARE WE THINKING ?
    Writing about what is wrong with nursing homes ? Why are they this way ? Why do people fade in them ?

    How did we come to be in this place, culturally, historically, economically ? Why nursing homes ?

    Write about our Fear of Aging, and the ways we create safety for ourselves that creates dehumanization.
    Why do we medicalize elder care ?
    Write about the coming neurologic epidemic.

    3. WHAT IS MUSIC IN THESE PLACES ?
    How is going into a nursing home with music or love important? How is this facing larger problems. Stories about touching people with Dementia.

    4. WHAT IS BEING ALIVE IN AGING ?
    What does it take to age well ?
    To live good long lives ?
    We need stories about learning from elders, about wisdom, about how we are made to age...

    5. THE CHALLENGE BEFORE US
    Why do this small thing ? How can we be more human ? We need stories that show how we become more by helping in this way.

    Please spread this to all your friends !

    Thank you very much,

    Michael Rossato-Bennett
    Director
    The Alive Inside Project
    www.aliveinside.us

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